Island



MFE'HIS, FHOTO-LITHOGRAFMER. WASHINGTON D C v tion of the ribs.

niTfn sTaTns PATENT onirica.

GEORGE WHI'IFORD, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

WASHBOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 33,118, dated August 20, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WHITFORD, of the city and county of Providence, in -the State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and Improved l/Vashboard; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

lVithin the wooden frame, which is used to incase the common washboard, I place a plate of vulcanized caoutchouc, gutta percha or other gums, the surface of which plate is ribbed or corrugated, having bars or stays .7), f, Figure l, which strengthen the ribs c 0 andby their intersection with the ribs'increase the friction of the board. I consider the best form in which the washboard can be made is that shown in Fig. l, in which there are three upright bars Z), f, f, placed cquidistant from each other and from the sides of the frame o, a. The ribs o, c. are arranged diagonally from the sides and the central bar meeting on opposite sides of the bars f, f. The ribs and bars may be made with a uniform curvature throughout their elevations and depressions but I consi der the best form is that shown in the drawing wherein the ribs and bars are formed angularly, in the form of a prism, resting on one side, the summit of the prism being slight-ly curved and the edges of two series of prisms joining each other.

The bars 7;, f, formsupports for the ribs and the clothes in the hands of the washer are dra-wn down to the angle by the inclina- This angle formed by the intersection of the ribs with the bars f increases the effect of the board for the purposes designed.

My improved washboard may be made with the ribs extending laterally across the washboard, in which case one central bar b,

is suiiicient to strengthen the ribs, which it intersects at right angles. It may also be made with the ribs in curves from side to side, and in a variety of other forms. When my improvement is used in washing ma- Chimes. t@ which it is Well adapted; the ribs and bars in the rubbers, both upper and lower, may be arranged in a great variety of ways at the pleasure of the manufacturer, care being taken to have the angles of the intersecting ribs and bars so placed that the clothes being washed will be pinched or bitten in them.

The advantages of my washboard i over those now in use are, that the surface upon which the clothes are rubbed is to a certain degree flexible, and the clothes are not worn so much as upon inelastic boards, the angles formed by the intersections of the ribs and bars increase the friction, and the cleansing properties of the caoutchouc are made available.

In preparing the compound of caoutchouc and other substances necessary for vulcanization, before the material of which the washboard is made is fashioned by the die, care should be taken to exclude all coloring matter.

I do not limit the form in which the washboard is made to the forms and arrangement above described and shown in tho drawing, as the form and arrangement may be greatly varied, but I deem that shown in Fig. l the best.

I am aware that a sheet of rubber placed` over a rigid iuted surface, has been used to form a wash board, but this arrangement is entirely inferior t0 mine by reason of its lacking the elasticity, and consequent freedom from injurious action upon the articles being Washed, which constitutes the chief advantage of my invention. Such a construction I disclaim.

l/Vhat I claim' as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, as a new article of manufacture, is-

A washboard, (or rubber for washing machinos) composed of vulcanized caoutchouc, gutta percha or other gums, with bars and ribs, constructed and arranged substantially as described for the purposes specified.

GEORGE WHITFORD.

Witnesses O. HARxNnss, J. S. PITMAN. 

